Safe Routes to Schools

Chris Grayling:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the Safe Routes to Schools initiative. [69485]

Mr. Ivan Lewis:
We continue to work with the Department for Transport, and other partners on the School Travel Advisory Group, to make the journey to school safer. This Department has also produced guidance for schools, governors and local education authorities to help them put in place initiatives to promote healthier, safer and more sustainable school travel.

Morley and Rothwell

Mr. Challen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many mature students in Morley and Rothwell have applied for a child care grant. [69362]

Margaret Hodge:
Information on mature students who apply for a childcare grant is not available centrally.

Mr. Challen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people in Morley and Rothwell received help from the Community Champions Fund. [69363]

Margaret Hodge:
The Scarman Trust, who administer the Community Champions fund in the West Yorkshire region, have received five applications from people in the Morley and Rothwell area. Unfortunately, none of these applications were successful, either because they were from large, established community groups, or because they did not meet the criteria for Community Champions funding.

However, we would welcome further applications from individuals and small groups in Morley and Rothwell who want to increase their skills to participate in the regeneration of their communities. In the first instance, they should contact the Government Office for Yorkshire and The Humber at the address below.
Natalie Bain
GOYH
PO Box 213
Room 1252
City House
New Station Street
Leeds
LS1 4US
Tel: 0113 2835884

19 Jul 2002 : Column 648W

Mr. Challen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people in Morley and Rothwell have (a) taken up modern apprenticeships, (b) started a foundation degree course and (c) received help from Individual Learning Accounts. [69365]

Mr. Ivan Lewis:
The information requested is as follows:
(a) started modern apprenticeships.

199798

199899

19992000

200001

200102

190

248

296

300

358

(a) started a foundation degree course.

Provisional figures for autumn 2001 show that there were 6 students on Foundation degrees.

(b) received help from individual learning accounts.

A total of 1,202 people have received help from the Individual Learning Account programme that was in operation from September 2000 to November 2001.

Agricultural Colleges

Mr. Liddell-Grainger:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what help will be given to agricultural colleges to cope with the change in the rural economy resulting from the foot and mouth epidemic. [65145]

Margaret Hodge:
Funding and planning of provision by agricultural colleges in the further education sector is the responsibility of the Learning and Skills Council. I have therefore asked John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, to write to the hon. Member providing the information requested and to place a copy of his reply in the Library. Agricultural colleges in the higher education sector are responsible for their own management and development, in discussion with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

Training Organisations

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 26 June 2002 to my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman), Official Report, column 910W, on training organisations, what payments were made to each NTO in each financial year since April 1997; and what the sector coverage was of each NTO in March. [70295]

Mr. Ivan Lewis:
The first NTO recognitions were in 1997. NTO recognition was withdrawn as of 31 March 2002. The totality of payments recorded for each financial year since April 1997 made by the Department in respect of work contracted by each NTO and sector coverage is as attached in Annex 1.

Unfortunately in our response of the 26 June, one organisation's total was included twice. This explains the difference in the 20012002 figures.